<p>Enlistment may not be an option. It is my understanding that it isn’t possible for some visa categories. It looks to me like the OP should be able to make things work if he/she lives at home and works the maximum number of hours permitted for a student with an F visa.</p>
<p>OP, take a hard look at what you’re saying. I want you to understand that if you take scholarship money to fund attending frat parties and smoking “whatnot,” you are basically as corrupt as people in your country because you will be taking money that is meant to be used to fund scholarship and study and using it to fund hedonism. </p>
<p>You wrote that you are currently being paid to help a friend build his father’s house. That is a wonderful life skill that will serve you well. Please try to work at it as long as possible. However, I don’t think you are being totally honest when you wrote, “I don’t know if I can work during the school year. Too afraid I won’t be able to balance academics and work” because if you have the free time to attend frat parties and smoke whatnot, you probably have the free time to work. </p>
<p>You know what the answer is. Now tap into that maturity and do what you have to do for you. (Remember that being caught smoking whatnot or drinking at frat parties if you’re underage can put your visa at risk.)</p>
<p>*However, I don’t think you are being totally honest when you wrote, “I don’t know if I can work during the school year. Too afraid I won’t be able to balance academics and work” because if you have the free time to attend frat parties and smoke whatnot, you probably have the free time to work. *</p>
<p>2college…thanks for pointing that out! LOL </p>
<p>Whenever I see kids post that they can’t work at all during the school year because of “academics”…I chuckle…it often means that they don’t want anything to interfere with their availability to attend whatever social event is going on.</p>
<p>Going to college usually means sacrifices. One of them for the OP is sacrificing his sense of entitlement for a certain “lifestyle” of frats and entertainment. If he can live at home for essentially free with his parents, he is extremely fortunate–and the OP should just bear it for the 4 years he needs in order to get his degree. He is lucky to be in the US, lucky his parents are offering him a place to stay.</p>
<p>I really hope this is not a ■■■■■. Some things aren’t adding up.</p>
<p>85% of my class is going to this university, and only very few are commuting from home. The majority will be in their own apartments or resident halls (mostly). It is simply very hard for me to accept the fact that now I suddenly become different from all my friends. Can you seriously not imagine this?</p>
<p>I don’t want any federal or scholarship money to pay my personal expenses. I was wondering if there is any way I could find money to cover as much of my tuition fees as possible.</p>
<p>Work & Social events. I can work 20 hours a week on business days. I’m most likely to be at school from 9 to 4. On average, I should work 4 hours a day. Do y’all think it will not interfare with my academics? I do not attend parties on weekdays. I don’t see how you could uninterpret that.</p>
<p>I understand I sound ridiculously selfish and taking everything for granted. I will most likely to commute from home the first year. I will do my best and will try to get more merit scholarships next year. Until then and from then, we’ll how life goes on.</p>
<p>Thank you all for taking your time to read my posts and sharing your advices like I’m your child. I really appreciate it.</p>
<p>I don’t want any federal or scholarship money to pay my personal expenses. I was wondering if there is any way I could find money to cover as much of my tuition fees as possible.</p>
<p>??? you don’t want scholarships money but you want to know where you can “find” such money? what the heck does that mean? if there was money to be “found” (where? in a tree? a hole? someone’s wallet?), don’t you think EVERYONE would be on the hunt for money that can be used for “party apts” and “frat dues.”</p>
<p>And…unless you go to some school where everyone is quite affluent, I really doubt that 85% will be going to this ONE university AND living on campus or in an apt. More likely, many in YOUR social circle will be attending and living away from home.</p>
<p>Working 15-20 hours per week and attending college is quite doable. It’s only 4 hours 5 days a week. Or one 8 hour day on a weekend, with two 4 hour days during the week.
You won’t be in classes for more than a few hours per day, if that, so you’re right that you could work these hours. I found that I actually studied harder and did better when I had other responsibilities, like a job.
You will learn to manage your time.</p>
<p>Many of us went to a university and worked during all four years. If your friends aren’t doing that, they are very lucky. Although, I actually think the students who learn to work during college are the lucky ones, as they will have developed skills and experience that will serve them well later.</p>
<p>I’m going through the same situation as you. I came to this country when I was 8 years old, on an F2 visa. I’ve been waiting for my permanent residency along with parents since 2001. Now, 2011, and still waiting. I’ll be attending Salem state university in the fall but all the money comes out of my own pocket and my dad does all he can to provide for my family and I. I got into Boston University and Northeastern University (my dream schools!!) (4.00 gpa, 1900 sat, 11/390 rank) but I’m unable to attend because of my residency status.</p>
<p>I completely understand how you have become Americanized, because so have I. My family did not realize that I would not receive financial aid until I reached high school, and there’s nothing I can do about it. I understand your desire to live out the “full college experience” just as much as you do, although for us it might not be possible.</p>
<p>Giving up Boston U was the hardest thing I ever did, but I obviously can’t swing over $50,000 in tuition alone. Going to SSU with my dad is not exactly my ideal choice of education, I’ll also be commuting :(</p>
<p>I managed to snag a few scholarships here and there, but not enough to cover all costs. Financial aid/scholarships for international students are no joke. I’m pretty sure I’ve scoured the internet enough times and have only come up with a handful of scholarships.</p>
<p>I should also add that it’s very frustrating to live your life one way just like all your friends and then suddenly stagger into this situation of realizing you’re not getting $. </p>
<p>College is a time to separate from home and embrace one’s own destiny. I know I won’t party or drink or whatever but I want to experience life away from my parents. Is THAT so bad? So please, stop calling him selfish. </p>
<p>Please don’t be so harsh. It’s a VERY frustrating situation. I feel American, but don’t have that little slip of paper that declares me so. All my hope goes into the US government to speed up the visa process (I realize that won’t happen, there’s other issues at hand (ie. war, economy)) However, I’m not losing lope, and neither should you, Healthy stick.</p>
<p>I know I didn’t offer advice, but I just wanted to show you that you’re not alone. :)</p>
<p>HealthyStick and beatriz,</p>
<p>As I wrote above, in the US more students live at home and commute to school than live away from home. However, there is a general notion that living away from home is the “real” college experience. It has been sold to students and their families much as we have been sold on the notion that water in plastic bottles is better for us or easier to deal with than water from a faucet. </p>
<p>Many of the parents here have had the experience of working their way through college. Many of us have our own kids living at home and commuting because it is the best way to make our kid’s educations affordable. I fully expect that some of your friends who are moving into the dorms will be back home by second semester because they have flunked out, dropped out, or decided that they hate the food or the noise. More of them will be home at the end of the first year because their parents will figure out that it is cheaper to have them commuting rather than living on campus. In your personal cases, if you live at home, and commute, you can get a college education. If you don’t live at home, you can’t afford that education, which means that you can’t even stay in the country after you age out of your F-2 status. This isn’t the deal you want, but it is the deal that you have, and when you think carefully, it isn’t a bad deal at all.</p>
<p>The people who have “failed” you, if that really can be said, are the adults around you who didn’t pay attention to the fact that you were in an F-2 status. Had your counselors and teachers been alert to that, they might have been able to help you make better college lists, and you may have been better prepared for the realities of your lives. If your parents had been more familiar with the US educational system, they might have figured out sooner that you would be severely restricted by your financial situations. That none of this happened for you is not because the people around you are evil, or mean, or stupid. It happened because your situation is relatively uncommon, and most people don’t know enough about the peculiar challenges that face F-2, J-2, H-2 etc. high school students. </p>
<p>Both of you can be successful at the colleges that you are attending. It is almost certain that living at home will not be as dreadful as you fear. </p>
<p>Wishing you all the best.</p>
<p>Healthystick…how did you get accepted without showing that you had the funds for college?</p>
<p>I don’t know how much different things would be if you were a US citizen, Beatriz. Neither Northeastern nor BU tend to meet need. I know a few kids this year who are not going because they got little or nothing from one or those schools. My son would be in that group except Northeaster WLed him. All you miss out on is the PELL if your parents income is very low, and that maxes out at $5500 and you can borrow up to $5500 on your own. That isn’t going to make much of a dent in the costs of those schools. </p>
<p>Many kids from affluent families are commuting to a local college here. My son had that as one of his top options. It’s the only way he could have done it as the school is very expensive. </p>
<p>Most of the money a student gets most of the time to attend these high cost schools is from the college itself. The federal funds aren’t going to be but a drop in the bucket to meet those amounts.</p>
<p>Mom2, I don’t believe that requirement would stand when he has a derivative visa. The INS requirement is the prerequisite for granting the status that he already has via his father.</p>
<p>And this is WAY more important than a young student might realize in terms of risk of permanent deportment/or failure to ever be ELIGIBLE for a permanent visa:
<a href=“Remember%20that%20being%20caught%20smoking%20whatnot%20or%20drinking%20at%20frat%20parties%20if%20you’re%20underage%20can%20put%20your%20visa%20at%20risk.”>quote</a>
[/quote]
</p>
<p>The one other odd thing was that I thought derivative non-work visas meant one <em>could not</em> work. But perhaps it’s actually that the student cannot work if not attending school.</p>
<p>Many, if not all, schools are need blind for admissions even for international students. They could care less if you have the money to come to the US. That’s all up to you and between you and Immigration. Since the OP is already here in the US, he may have it easier as well. </p>
<p>I still think he and his dad need to schedule a visit with the appropriate dean of the school to see if there aren’t some options open to him as the child of a student. When my DH was doing graduate work, there were tuition benefits for the family, I recall. My one son was nursery school aged, and we got 50% off the tuition right off the bat, and those whose incomes warrented it, got scholarship money as well.</p>
<p>Many, if not all, schools are need blind for admissions even for international students.</p>
<p>I don’t know if this is true for int’l students. When an int’l student applied to my kids’ flagship, they would not accept her until she submitted those financial docs…they were part of the int’l application req’ts. </p>
<p>However, I can see that some schools might fore-go this req’t for students who are already in the country on a visa. </p>
<p>I know that the gov’t doesn’t want int’ls coming to this country to go to school and then be too cash poor to support themselves or return home…especially since their work options are limited here.</p>
<p>Beatriz and Healthystick, </p>
<p>I understand you are disappointed because you feel like you feel American and cannot fulfill what you think is the American tradition of going away to college. As several have already told you, it’s NOT the norm-- any more than the typical American family has no economic problems, 2 children, a dad who comes in whistling and a mom who stays home all day, bakes cookies from scratch. It’s a myth-- maybe an ideal, but not reality for many or even most. </p>
<p>While you may feel (especially if you live in an affluent area) that many people are going away even though the reality is as Happymom wrote that many of those kids will be back, fail out, etc., I want you also to take the time to compare yourself to another group-- the kids from the country where you were born who do not have parents in the US. They would LOVE to have the opportunity to study in the U.S. legally. As hard as it is, I want you to understand that life is like that for most of us-- there is always someone who has it better and someone who has it worse. You need to decide where you are going to focus. You need to focus on the opportunities you have now, here, and make the best of them. That really means keeping your nose clean and also keeping up any non-English language you may speak which might be of use to you in the job market. Your situation has negatives but it also has positives-- you are able to study here and maybe there (if your visa allows you to go to the other country, it may strengthen your language ability to spend some time there). You are able to function in 2 cultures and speak 2 languages. If you must be at home, use that time to perfect your parents’ first language. Also, if you can’t work much, use that time to get unpaid internships that can bolster your resume. Having one foot in each culture FEELS like you’re being dragged down now, but it may be a great gift from your parents.</p>
<p>As a note, no, you can’t join the military on a visa. You have to be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. In addition, permanent residents bring extra paperwork that many recruiters don’t want to do, and they can’t get security clearances, which limits their job options. So OP wouldn’t be able to join the military as a fast-track to citizenship and college unless he/she got her/his green card first.</p>
<p>By the way, I think this student is now on a student visa for himself. From what I understand, he had an F-2 visa (student’s dependant) because a parent had an F-1 student visa. With an F-2 visa, you cannot work. After being accepted to college, he filled out an I-20 to change his visa to an F-1 visa for himself. F-1 visa holders are allowed to work up to 20 hours a week on campus. I think he would have had to show that he can support himself-- but he can, by living with his parents. The hours he works for his friend’s father are not ‘legal’ (but it doesn’t even sound like a formal job to me, unless I’m misunderstanding)and won’t count in the 20 hours.</p>
<p>Yes, Mom2collegekids, some schools do not go through what your flagship does for international students. That’s why we get so many of them who are accepted to US schools confused as to how they are going to pay for this windfall they think they got. They’ve been accepted, so now they expect the school to come up with the funds to pay for them since they need to show this to immigration to even get into this country. </p>
<p>In this student’s case, he is already here, so there is nothing to have to show immigration. He was just getting a status change, and that he can put his parents down for source of income who are already here and one at the very same college would make things simpler for him. I suspect that there may be some other benefits there for him at this college. There is a silence about working with Dad on getting those benefits that makes me think that the kid was sure that he was going to get an award that would allow him to move out and be free of mom and dad, and he is loathe to have to work with Dad and find out what he can get from his father’s status as a PHD candidate at that college. </p>
<p>Though there might be some benefits for him, I doubt very much the college is going to pay for his room and board so he can move out of his parent’s home. (Unless the college is in CA, LOL)</p>